Transcript The Zapotecs

History of the Zapotec
By: Stella Cherise and Breon
When Dominant/important dates
• Around 1400 B.C.
– One of the fist Meso-americans to build ritual
buildings made of plaster
• 800 B.C.-1600 A.D
– Largest group in Ozaka
• 200-250 B.C.
– Military use or writing reached a new height
• 700-500 B.C
– Developed a writing system with hieroglyphs
• 500 B.C
– Created the first North American first full state
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When Dominant/Important Dates
• 200-250 B.C.
– Military use of writing reached a new height
• 300B.C-700 A.D
– Capital at Monte Alban
• 600-900 A.D.
– Reached zenith
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•The religion of the Zapotec was a mix of roman catholic
and Christianity.
They believed that they were born out of rocks, trees, and
jaguars.
•A priest made religious rites. And sometimes they had
human sacrifices.
The Zapotecs along with worshipping gods they
worshipped their ancestors, and believed in an underworld.
•Zapotec Religion might have led to pre-hispanic religion
Their tombs were elaborate, underground rooms which
were made by artisans. Over the doorways were pottery
urns that had gods on them, which were thought of as the
guardians of the dead.
A common urn
represented
Cocijo, the
Rain God
Zapotec Gods & Goddesses
Cocijo – The god of rain
Cozibo – The god of Sun and War fare
Pecala – The god of Love, Dreams, Excesses
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Zapotec Religion
• The bodies were laid on the floor and covered in
decorated fabrics and other materials.
• there were symbols painted on the walls showing
that the body belonged to priests and gods.
• Within the chambers were found ear ornaments,
figurines, pebbles carved in the shape of heads, and
mosaics and other wall decorations made of pieces of
jade and other stones placed in stucco.
• On the hills surrounding Monte Alban and Zapotec,
simple burials and tombs were placed, which
indicates that they belonged to people of not as
wealthy class.
“agricultural city-dwelling people”
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• Zapotec society is arranged
around central villages or
towns which has an
agricultural base.
• They did some hunting,
fishing, and gathering of wild
foods.
• Agriculture is based on ‘slashand-burn’ to clear land, along
with plow and oxen which
were used in cultivation.
• There was a big soil erosion
problem, so they built
terraces to keep the soil from
eroding
• Farmers grew their crops in
deeper soil
The main
plants grown
were corn,
beans, squash,
herbs, flowers
and fruit trees
coffee, wheat,
and sugarcane
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Weakness/Downfall
• They didn’t have a strong military
power
– The Mixtec invaded
• The civilization fell from the use of military
power by
• They traveled to a new location where
under control by the Aztec
– They had many rebellions while under the
rule of the Aztec
– Later came to be ruled by the Spanish
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Strengths
• They were very good negotiators which
allowed them to trade in a better way
• Advanced culture
• They built advanced houses
– Lived in large villages
– Houses constructed with stone and mortar
• Number system
– The number system allowed them to count
• Able to use their knowledge of science
– Create a calendar
• Religious ceremonies
• Record historic dates
• Know when there were going to be eclipses
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Zapotec political Organization
• The Zapotec community was divided into
three groups; kings ,priests, nobles.
Becoming a king or a priest was inherited.
• The Chief was the supreme head.
• Since kings, priests, and nobles were the
highest in the status they live inside the city.
• Kings and priests were buried in tombs in
Monte Alban, Zapotec capital.
• Zapotec’s greatest king was Cosijoeza.
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Zapotec political Organization
Merchants were in the middle level of
status. They had certain privileges that
the underclassmen didn’t get.
• The underclassman included artisans,
peasants, hunters, and fisherman.
• Middle and underclassmen lived on
hillsides and in dwellings made of
perishable material.
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Zapotec Art
• The Zapotecs mastered art.
• Sculpture were dedicated to the gods
and important rulers.
• Funerary urns that they made were
placed at the entrance of a tomb to
protect the burial.
• Many tombs were painted with gods
and past rulers.
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Zapotec Art
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Necklaces were made out of gold.
Bowls were made out of alabaster.
They also carved carving in jade.
For fishing they made nets and
fishhooks out of fish bone.
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Zapotec Trade
• The major trading items were crops,
pottery, jewelry, and carvings.
• The Zapotec’s used a marketplace
system. Maize, maguey, coconuts,
bananas, coffee, and mangoes were
cash crops, easily marketable.
• Trade routes went through out Oaxaca.
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Zapotec Trade
• Not only would they trade goods but
they would trade ideas.
• They would trade ideas about their
writing system and calendar.
• They were also skilled negotiators.
Bibliography
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"Zapotec culture." World History: Ancient & Medieval. ABC-CLIO.
http://www.ancienthistory.abc-clio.com
“Zapotec Economy.” Countries and Their Cultures. Every Culture.
http://www.everyculture.com/Middle-America-Caribbean/ZapotecEconomy.html
“Oaxaca.” All Empires. All Empires Online History Community.
http://www.allempires.com/article/index.php?q=Oaxaca
“Zapotec.” Zapotec. Native Americans.
http://www.nativeamericans.com/Zapotec.htm
Simon, Kate. Mexico: Places and Pleasures. Cleveland and New York:
The World Company, 1962. 9-447.
• Burland, C.a. The Gods of Mexico. New York: First American
Edition, 1967. 3-219.
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• "Zapotec." Ancienct Scripts. 6 Oct. 2007
http://www.ancientscripts.com/zapotec.html
• "Zapotec Civilization." Wikipedia. 5 Oct. 2007
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zapotec_civilization
• "Zapotec Culture." World History: Ancient and
Medival Era. 7 Oct. 2007
http://www.ancienthistory.abcclio.com/library/searches/searchdisplay.aspx?entryid=
601301&fulltext=zapotec&nav=non&specialtopicid=1
• "Zapotec." MSN Encarta. 7 Oct. 2007
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761587519/Za
potec.html
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• "Classic Period." The Zapotecs, Mesamerica. 6
Oct. 2007
http://www.elbalero.gob.mx/pages_kids/histo
ry/mesoamerica/zapo_kids.html
• "Oaxaca Valley, Zapotec."; The Zapotecs. 6
Oct. 2007
<http://www.celerina.com/zapotecs.html>.
• "The Ancient Cultures." Morbid OutlookFunerary Practices in the Ancient Americas. 6
Oct. 2007
http://www.morbidoutlook.com/nonfiction/art
icles/2003_03_americas.html
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